Federation of Labour Exchanges

Federation of Labour Exchanges, French Fédération des Bourses du Travail (FBT),
federation of French workers’ organizations (bourses) established in 1892. The bourse was a combination of a labour exchange (dealing with job placement), a workers’ club and cultural centre, and a central labour union. The federation advocated direct action to bring about a more equitable economic system that would emancipate workers. In 1895 Fernand Pelloutier, an anarchist and syndicalist leader, became the federation’s secretary. The FBT’s supporters included socialists as well as syndicalists. In 1902 the FBT merged into the General Confederation of Labour (Confédération Générale du Travail).